Plastic is usually a durable material. Its durability has created the problems of the issue as it is considered immune to environmental biodegradation processes, of course. The microbes that break down alternative substances do not recognize plastic as food. However, plastic can fragment under the effects of ultraviolet light, weakening over time into metal particles and scrap metal. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Biodegradation, the breakdown of natural substances by the environment, suggests that it occurs continuously in the environment. All substances of vegetal, animal or mineral origin can biodegrade over time. In its original state crude oil can biodegrade, however humans produce petrochemical compounds from petroleum, including plastic, now it will not. Why not now? The result of the plastic could be a combination of components extracted from oil and then mixed again by men in white coats. consequently, since these combinations are man-made, they are unknown to nature. As a result, it was thought that there was no natural system to interrupt them. The enzymes and microorganisms responsible for the decomposition of naturally occurring organic materials such as dead animals, rocks, plants and minerals do not recognize them. This means that plastic items are considered indestructible, at least in a biodegradable sense. In total, as time goes by, we all know that plastic can eventually photodegrade, that is, break down into metallic and metallic fragments due to exposure to the sun. The photodegradation process continues down to the molecular level, however photodegraded plastic remains a chemical compound. no matter how small the objects are, they are always plastic, meaning they are not worn out or changed by normal processes. In the ocean, the method of fragmentation of plastic occurs in the same way, due to waves, the action and reaction of sand. Of particular interest are the tiny floating plastic fragments commonly referred to in the media as mermaid tears, which measure small grains of raw plastic organic compound that forms the building material of every factory-made plastic product, or measure granules of household waste that have fragmented over the years. In any case, mermaid's tears, or broken down plastic waste, reaching infinitesimal dimensions after some time, remain everywhere and are relatively difficult to wash off. They are light enough to float in the breeze, arriving in Earth's seas. Mermaid's tears are regularly found in feeders such as mussels, barnacles, arachnid and amphipods. Therefore, photodegradation of plastic scrap makes the situation worse. Plastic becomes microscopic, invisible, yet never polluted in the waters, on the coasts, on the ocean floor, on the beaches, it is ingested by even smaller marine organisms, and therefore enters the food chain in an insidious and inevitable way. Since plastics belong to the chemical family of high polymers, they are basically made up of an extended chain of molecules containing recurring units of carbon atoms. As a result of this inherent molecular stability (high molecular weight), plastic does not simply break down into less complicated parts. Plastic decomposes, although not completely, over a long period of time (about one hundred to five hundred years). Commercially available plastics (polyolefins such as polyethylene, polypropylene, etc.) are also made immune to decomposition thanks to additional stabilizers such as antioxidants. Here.